This is a competitive renewal of a Jointly Sponsored Neuroscience Training grant that funds prethesis Ph.D. students in the Neuroscience Training Program (NSP) at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center (UCHSC). The NSP is an interdisciplinary Ph.D. granting Program started in 1986 that has been funded by NIH training grants since 1993. The 30 training faculty participating in this grant belong to six basic science and three clinical departments. The 30 faculty members have a combined funding of $13.9 M in direct annual grant dollars for an average of around $460,000 per year, and they have an outstanding record of previous training. The focus of the NSP is on training outstanding neuroscientists and academicians who will make significant contributions to neurobiology, become leaders in the field and impart these qualities to future generations of neuroscientists. In addition, we aim to foster development of students who approach research in a responsible, professional manner. In 2001 the Curriculum Committee, working in close collaboration with the new Director, Dr. Diego Restrepo, developed a new curriculum designed to attain these goals. We recruit highly qualified students on a national basis with undergraduate degrees in biology, chemistry, physical sciences or psychology. Among our current 21 students 38% are women, 10% are underrepresented minorities and 15% are from rural colleges and universities in the Rocky Mountain Region. Our graduates have a strong record as academicians and scientists; on the average they published 4 manuscripts during their tenure at UCHSC. We are requesting funds to support two students for two years each with a gradual increase throughout the period of funding to four students for two years each. The increase in the number of slots is based on the projected increase in Neuroscience faculty with the relocation of the entire School of Medicine to our new state-of-the-art Fitzsimons campus. [unreadable] [unreadable]